David Bowie famously used a Stylophone on "Space Oddity" all the way back in 1969. Over half a century later, Stylophone maker Dubreq has released a Bowie version of the synthesizer.

Dubreq teamed up with The David Bowie Archive on the limited-edition Bowie Stylophone. It's not functionally different from a regular Stylophone, though. There's a Bowie logo and it comes with a booklet that dives into his music and features archive photos.

Still, given Bowie's long association with the instrument (he used it on the 2002 song “Slip Away” as well), it could be a neat memento for fans. You can buy the Bowie Stylophone from Dubreq's website for $40.

Netflix is continuing to experiment with storytelling formats. Filming is underway on a heist thriller series called Jigsaw (which has nothing to do with the Saw movies, as best I can tell). Although it won't be an interactive project like Black Mirror: Bandersnatch or Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Kimmy vs. the Reverend, it's a non-linear show. According to The Hollywood Reporter, you can watch the first seven episodes in any order leading up to the finale, similar to Paramount+ series Interrogation.

Jigsaw is loosely based on a real story in which $70 billion in Wall Street bearer bonds were at risk due to flood waters caused by Hurricane Sandy. The story spans 25 years, from decades before the heist to a year afterward.

The show has a solid cast, with Giancarlo Esposito, Paz Vega, Rufus Sewell and Jai Courtney among those involved. Breaking Bad and The Mandalorian star Esposito will play a veteran thief who can't stay away from a life of crime. Vega, meanwhile, plays an attorney who goes above and beyond to protect those close to her.

Ridley Scott is among the executive producers of the series, which was created by showrunner Erica Garcia. There's no release date for Jigsaw just yet, but it's maybe worth keeping an eye out for so you can put the puzzle pieces together when it arrives.

Cadillac is preparing to leap into the electric vehicle market with the Lyriq, and now the automaker has revealed when you'll be able to lock in your reservation. You'll get your first chance to lay claim to a 2023 Lyriq this Saturday (September 18th) at 4PM ET. Cadillac will host a two-hour livestream on the YouTube masthead in the lead-up to reservations opening.

The Lyriq starts at $58,795 and has a range of over 300 miles. It has a giant, 33-inch wraparound display and it's built on parent company GM's Ultium battery platform. Cadillac plans to release its first EV in the first half of 2022.

It's been a few years since the last Wipeout game, so fans may be pleased to hear there's a new title on the way. However, Wipeout Rush is quite different from what long-term fans might expect. It's a card-based mobile game in which you'll manage a team of competitors instead of controlling any anti-gravity ships directly.

“If I want that visceral, immersive, intense racing experience, I’ll find it waiting on PlayStation," Matt Casamassina, CEO of developer Rogue Games told IGN. "But at the same time, we’re delighted that we could rethink Wipeout for mobile with some fun new play mechanics and gorgeous visuals."

Wipeout Rush features more than 60 ships from across the Wipeout series. The single-player campaign contains 12 championship cups that take place across five environments with unique tracks, as well as a story told through comic book-style visuals. There's also an electronica soundtrack from long-standing Sony composer Alastair Lyndsay, while Rogue says you'll be able to play at up to 60 frames per second.

It might not be the full-on Wipeout experience that veteran players might have been hoping for on, say, PS5, but it could kickstart the revival of a series that's been part of PlayStation's DNA for over a quarter of a century. Wipeout Rush will hit iOS and Android in early 2022.

Psyonix has revealed details for the next Rocket League Championship Series season, and it's looking to take the esport to new heights. Not only will the 2021-22 RCLS have the biggest prize pool of any season with $6 million up for grabs, there will be three new regions in the biggest expansion to date.

The inclusion of the Asia-Pacific North, Asia-Pacific South and Middle East & North Africa regions mean that players in dozens more countries can compete in pro Rocket League in the upcoming season. Teams in Japan, South Korea, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Algeria, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and several other nations can take part in the RCLS for the first time.

Although the Sub-Saharan Africa region won't have full participation in the 2021-22 RCLS, teams there still have a shot at getting to the World Championship. Two wildcard spots are earmarked for the best teams from tournaments in that region. 

The 2021-22 RCLS regular season will run from October 15th until July 3rd, with the World Championship wildcard and main event tournaments scheduled for later that month. Sixteen teams will qualify for the wildcard tournament. The top eight will join another eight squads that progress directly to the main event. The championship-winning team will earn $600,000.

Psyonix hopes to hold events with fans depending on how the COVID-19 situation evolves. The Fall Major in Stockholm, Sweden will take place without a live audience.

It's neat to see Rocket League take a step toward becoming a true global esport. It might secretly be the best esport for casual viewers. As long as you know the basic rules of soccer (get the ball in the goal), it's super easy to follow and understand what's going on. It's a blast to watch with a crowd. Here's hoping things are safe enough for Psyonix to run events with fans this season.

The ghost of Quibi is giving up the Turnstyle rotating video tech that let users watch its short-form content in either landscape or portrait mode on phones. A company called Eko filed a lawsuit over the feature a month before Quibi's ill-fated launch. Eko accused Quibi of patent infringement and claimed it used stolen trade secrets to build the tech.

The companies have settled their legal claims against each other, and Quibi is transferring the Turnstyle tech and intellectual property to Eko. The financial terms of their settlement haven't been disclosed, as Variety notes. Eko sought over $100 million in damages from Quibi.

“We are satisfied with the outcome of this litigation, and proud of the independently created contributions of Quibi and its engineering team to content presentation technology,” Quibi founder Jeffrey Katzenberg said.

Eko filed its suit in March 2020. That July, a court ruled that Quibi could keep using Turnstyle pending the outcome of the lawsuit. As it turns out, the case lasted far longer than Quibi's streaming service — the app shut down last December, less than eight months after it debuted.

Quibi sold its content library to Roku, which won an Emmy for one of those series this past weekend. After selling its shows, a Quibi holding company called QBI Holdings was formed as the legal battle played out.

The settlement is another nail in the coffin for a big, expensive, failure of a bet on mobile streaming. Quibi was designed for on-the-go viewing, but it launched in the midst of a pandemic, when most people weren't moving around. Still, at least we'll always have memories of "The Golden Arm."

HBO's subscriber numbers will take a hit after it disappears from Amazon Prime Video Channels today. Earlier this month, Amazon told users who signed up for HBO through Channels their $15/month plans would be canceled on September 15th with pro-rated refunds being issued.

In all, HBO is expected to lose around 5 million subscribers as part of this move, which WarnerMedia agreed with Amazon last year. Amazon refused to support HBO Max if it wasn't available through Channels. According to The Hollywood Reporter, HBO may offer its former Amazon subscribers a discount to persuade them to sign up to HBO Max.

That's what this shift is all about for WarnerMedia: cutting out the middleman and having a direct connection to viewers through HBO Max. It's willing to lose some subscribers in the short-term to make that happen, so it can, for instance, personalize the HBO Max home page. WarnerMedia removed HBO as premium add-ons on Apple TV and Roku for similar reasons.

The HBO Max app is available on Amazon Fire TV devices. Those who switched from HBO on Prime Video to HBO Max on Fire TV shouldn't encounter any disruptions when the former disappears from channels, THR notes.

Meanwhile, Amazon is hoping people will subscribe to other premium channels. It's offering discounts on Paramount+, Starz and Showtime plans. You can pay 99 cents per month for two months if you sign up by Friday.

Sony has revealed a second color option for its Pulse 3D headset: Midnight Black. It complements the Midnight Black DualSense controller Sony released for PlayStation 5 in June — the products share the same color scheme. 

The headset's original white and black colorway matches the PS5's design. Here's hoping Sony is working on first-party black plates for the console to mirror the look of the newer peripherals.

The latest version of the headphones will be available on October 22nd. Pre-orders for the $100 headset are open on PlayStation Direct.

The company created the headset to take advantage of the PS5's spatial audio tech, which aims to place sounds in places that match what you're seeing on screen. There are dual microphones built in, which will come in useful for speaking with your teammates or if you're streaming your gameplay (though a dedicated mic is probably a better option). 

The headphones are primarily designed for PS5 and will work with PS4, PCs and Macs via the wireless USB transmitter. There's no Bluetooth, but you can connect the headset to other devices through a 3.5mm headphone port or by using an adaptor. 

Sony is rolling out a major update for PS5 today that not only unlocks the console's expansion slot, but adds equalizer settings for Pulse 3D. There are three presets: Standard, Bass Boost and Shooter. The latter puts more emphasis on shots being fired and footsteps. You can craft your own presets and save up to three for easy access. You'll be able to change the equalizer settings through the Control Center, so you don't need to access the console's main menu system to switch things up.

Meanwhile, the latest PS5 system software adds support for 3D audio through built-in TV speakers. So, if you prefer to play without headphones and don't have a surround sound audio system, you may still get some of the effects of spatial audio.

Microsoft says everyone can remove the password from their Microsoft account and use other methods to sign in starting today. The company rolled out the option to enterprise users earlier this year.

Rather than having to remember a password or using a password manager, you'll be able to use the Microsoft Authenticator app, Windows Hello, a security key or SMS or emailed codes. You'll be able to sign in to services such as Outlook, OneDrive, Microsoft Family Safety, and even Xbox Series X/S without a password. Microsoft is rolling out the option to everyone over the next few weeks as it gears up for the launch of Windows 11 on October 5th. 

Once you have installed the Authenticator app and linked it to your account, you can switch off your password. Go to your Microsoft account settings, then Advanced Security Options and Additional Security. From there, you can switch your account to a passwordless one. Then, follow the prompts and approve a notification on the Authenticator app to seal the deal.

You can re-activate your password at any time, but other login methods may be far more convenient and secure. Not only are passwords a cybersecurity minefield, they're time-consuming to enter and, at best, annoying to deal with.

It'd be welcome to see other services ditch passwords if they can offer users alternative, secure methods of logging in. Until then, turn on two-factor authentication wherever possible, and get a password manager and use unique passwords for all of your accounts.

After two and a half years without a refresh, Apple is at long last revamping the iPad mini. The 8.3-inch all-screen device has slimmer bezels and rounded corners, and it leaves no space for a physical Home button. As with last year's iPad Air, you'll now find the Touch ID sensor in the power button. The Lightning port is gone too, with a USB-C port taking its place.

The screen is a liquid retina display with 500 nits of brightness, a P3 wide color gamut, anti-reflective screen coating, True Tone, and full lamination. The iPad Mini now has stereo speakers, so watching video on it could be much better this time around.

Apple has moved the volume buttons to the top of the device, and there's an intriguing reason for that. The latest tablet can accommodate a second-gen Apple Pencil.

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